


A Secret for a Revelation

by Sillus



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Fierce Deity - Freeform, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Major injuries, Minor Injuries, OH BOY FIGHT TIME, The Blood Moon, Violence, aaaannnggsstt, talks, theyre not having a good time yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-01-24 14:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21340021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sillus/pseuds/Sillus
Summary: He blinks, trying to force the dizziness away, but it persists—no, it growsstronger.No… now? Of all times,now?“Time!” He looks back to see Warriors holding a hand to his head. “Are we switching?”“Right now?” Legend yells, fending off a moblin while Hyrule downs a potion.This is the worst time to switch. Not only are they separated by a decently large margin, but right in the middle ofbattle?This could either end really well or really bad for them all.
Relationships: Legend (Linked Universe) & Time (Linked Universe)
Comments: 207
Kudos: 778





	1. Ambush

**Author's Note:**

  * For [liccy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liccy/gifts).

> >:D  
This is entirely inspired by my friend Liccy! I'll go more into depth on what exactly inspired this when I actually get to that specific part.  
Speaking of, my friend and beta reader helped me decide on whether or not I should split this into multiple parts, and we decided on yes! I don't know how long this will be, but considering I'm 3500 words in and not even at the part that sparked the entire fic, well...  
Strap in, fellas.  
I hope you enjoy!

“Don’t walk too close to the edge,” Twilight warns as they come up to the end of the bridge. “There’s nothing to keep you from falling if you slip.”

Time lets himself lag behind so he’s at the back of the group Twilight’s words, glancing over his shoulder as the others walk past. Eldin Bridge is truly a beautiful sight, but even with the relative safety the bridge offers, Time isn’t taking any chances. He’d rather keep everyone in his sight.

While his back is the one exposed, bringing up the rear of the group allows Time to witness Legend sliding up beside Wind and sling an arm around his shoulders. Wind relaxes—Time hadn’t noticed how tense the boy was—at the action, and even smiles with a giggle when Warriors saunters up on his other side and begins spinning together a frankly ridiculous story. Twilight and Wild take the lead, Wild’s hands moving erratically as they converse. Four and Sky chuckle about something Four said, and Hyrule falls into step beside Time without a sound.

“This is amazing,” Hyrule breathes. “Look at that sunset! And the castle!”

Time smiles, looking at the castle Hyrule is pointing at. The structure is halfway shrouded in shadows from the sunset, while the other half gleams in the fading light. It is truly a beautiful sight to behold as they traverse the bridge, and he can’t help the pride that swells in his chest. This is his time period’s future. Twilight’s Hyrule is what his will become, and it’s nice to know that the land prospers even when he is gone. It’s even nicer to know that his bloodline—and Malon’s—lives on in the boy currently leading the group towards Castle Town.

Twilight seems awfully excited to go there. Perhaps someone important lives in Castle Town? Or multiple people? Or, and probably more likely, perhaps Twilight has a furry friend or two he’s been wanting to see.

Oh who is he kidding? Of _course_ it’s a furry friend. There’s a slight chance that there will also be someone relatively important.

“It’s very impressive,” Time hums in reply, fondness widening his smile. Hyrule has that innocent look of pure wonder on his face, head swiveling around and green eyes wide as he takes it all in.

Until suddenly, Hyrule freezes, ears twitching as he looks over his shoulder. Those bright green eyes lose that innocent twinkle in favor of adopting a suspicious gleam, brow furrowed and lips turned down to form a frown.

“You hear that, right?” He whispers.

Time blinks, and he opens his mouth to tell Hyrule that no, he does not hear “that”, when a very faint horn causes his own ears to twitch in response.

Four turns back to look at them as Sky grabs everyone else’s attention. “What was that?” Four asks.

“It sounded like a horn,” Time replies, a grim feeling taking root in his stomach.

“Monsters,” Hyrule states. “Definitely monsters.”

“And we’re on a bridge with nothing keeping us from falling off.” Four looks past Time, narrowing his eyes. When Time follows his gaze, he has to bite back a very loud and exasperated groan.

That’s a _lot_ of monsters.

“We need to get off this bridge, _now_!” Time snaps, grabbing the back of Hyrule’s tunic and shoving him in front. Hyrule stumbles, but gets the hint and starts running after Four and the others. Time keeps his place at the rear, checking over his shoulder as he runs after them. The horde of monsters have noticed them now, lizalfos scuttling ahead of the others with long spears in their hands. They are gaining ground far too quickly for his liking.

“Ah fuck!” Time whips his head around at Legend’s shout only to see the others have come to a stop up ahead. Why are they stopping? They need to at least get off the bridge before the monsters catch up.

Then Time sees another horde on the other side, and the grim feeling sharpens into a twinge of fear.

“We’re trapped, aren’t we?” Hyrule asks in a shaky voice.

“I wouldn’t say trapped, but we’re in trouble. That’s for sure,” Time utters, drawing his claymore and spinning around. The lizalfos draw closer, letting out battle cries and hefting their spears up. “I’ll hold them off here.”

“You’re gonna need some help with that,” Legend drawls, stepping up beside him with his sword and shield drawn. “I’ll handle the ones that get past you.”

There’s no time for further planning. With a nod to Legend, Time steps forward and intercepts the first lizalfos, easily cutting the wooden spear into two and kicking the monster over the edge of the bridge. He moves on to the next, his claymore cutting through the tough skin and scales like a knife through butter. The few that manage to slip past him are quickly stopped by Legend. But as the fight draws on, moblins and bokoblins join the fray and make it that much harder to hold his ground. The bridge helps keep the flow of enemies low, but the sheer amount is starting to tire him.

The next moblin his blade cuts through doesn’t fall like the rest, but grows more enraged, lashing out with fists when Time knocks its weapon away. Dark blood stains the old stone beneath his feet as Time swings his claymore in a wide arc, sending it along with some of its allies over the edge of the bridge.

Great. Infected monsters. Just what they needed.

An arrow flies past him and into the muzzle of an approaching Wolfos. When Time swings his weapon to finish it off, flames spew from his blade and send monsters scrambling back and knocking into each other.

_Neat_.

Time doesn’t bother questioning where the fire came from, but instead takes advantage of the fact that he somewhat controls it. He swings his weapons again, watching as both the flames and the arrows coming from behind drive the horde back. A quick glance over his shoulder shows Hyrule and Legend wielding bows, Hyrule’s jaw clenched tight and hands tinted orange.

Time turns back to the horde just in time to see what looks like a lizalfos with wings heading right for him from above. He doesn’t have time to move, and it slams into him with a shriek. He loses his grip on his weapon as he grapples with the monster, grunting as he catches its sword arm and tries to angle the blade away from him. It flaps its wings wildly, lifting them just enough to get Time’s feet off the ground before digging its clawed feet into his armored chest and letting them fall. Its weight forces Time to the ground on his back, and he grits his teeth and pants through his nose as he struggles to keep the sword from slicing his throat open all while praying for his armor to hold against the ruthless claws. The last thing these fucking lizards needed to do was grow wings!

It lifts him up a second time and slams him back down. Time grunts as his head smacks the hard stone, stars filling his vision for a few heart-stopping moments. It’s enough for the sword to press against his neck, drawing blood as Time’s strength wavers. He draws every ounce of power in his body to keep the sword at bay, and just as he begins to force it back little by little, the monster opens its jaws. An orange light builds in the back of its throat, and Time’s struggles become desperate as he thrashes in its hold but those _dammed claws_ keep him right where he doesn’t want to be.

Just as he thinks he’s about to be burned alive, a pair of hands wearing golden gauntlets grab its neck and _yank,_ forcing it to look up as it breathes orange flames. Time doesn’t waste the opportunity granted to him, ripping the sword from its grasp and thrusting it up and into its neck. The monster lets out a choked cry, the fire abruptly stopping as its entire body shudders. Time wriggles out from underneath it, kicking its corpse away.

“The others are gonna panic when they see you covered in all that blood,” Legend jeers, pocketing his gauntlets and pulling his bow back out again.

Time snorts. “Rather this than burned alive. Thanks.”

He retrieves his sword—it was very close to the edge, much to his discomfort—and rejoins Legend and Hyrule in battle, the latter having taken over maintaining their wall of fire while Warriors defends him from any other flying lizalfos.

“How’re the others?” Time asks, parrying a slash from one of said monsters. Warriors grunts as he stabs the monster in its abdomen.

“They managed to get off the bridge but they’re still fighting. Four took a bad hit though,” He replies, kicking the monster off his sword. “I came back to help after getting him out of the battle, but there are a lot more monsters over here than I thought.”

“Getting cold feet, captain?” Time teases, jumping out of the way of another flying lizalfos.

“Considering these fucking Aeralfos? Yeah I am,” Warriors grumbles. “Pain in the ass.”

So that’s what they’re called. Time lunges for it, grabbing its attention with a swing of his blade. It blocks him, as expected, but it fails to notice Warriors charging it from the side until it’s too late and his weapon has cut into its chest and stomach. As they shove it off the bridge, Time sees the world swaying before his very eye.

He blinks, trying to force the dizziness away, but it persists—no, it grows _stronger_.

_No… now? Of all times, **now**?_

“Time!” He looks back to see Warriors holding a hand to his head. “Are we switching?”

“Right now?” Legend yells, fending off a moblin while Hyrule downs a potion.

This is the _worst_ time to switch. Not only are they separated by a decently large margin, but right in the middle of _battle_? This could either end really well or really bad for them all.

The world is full-on spinning now, and Time is forced to go on the defensive, blocking any attacks that come his way and hoping the others manage to hold their own. It seems the monsters are struggling too, as Time can blearily see them swinging in his direction, but nothing connects.

The old stone beneath his feet turns to a steep hill out of nowhere, causing Time to lose his footing. As he scrambles to reorient himself, he slams into another body and they go tumbling down the hill, limbs flailing in a vain attempt to stop themselves. Time hits his head for a second time and curses when his vision turns black at the edges.

Around him, other monsters roll to a stop, sprawled out in the grass and likely dizzy from the sudden shift in time periods.

_Oh fuck, the monsters are still here._

Time scrambles to stand, gripping his claymore to both steady himself and prepare for more fighting. _Where are the others?_

He sees Warriors push himself to his feet, shaking his head with his eyes squeezed shut. A bokoblin lunges at him, but before it can get close, an arrow lands right between its eyes. Time finds Legend on the hill, seemingly unscathed and looking more pissed off than usual with his bow in his hands.

Hyrule stumbles out of the bushes further uphill, branches and leaves tangled in his hair and clothes. “I’m okay!” He yells just as he trips over his own feet and nearly goes rolling down the hill. “I’m okay!”

Legend grabs the back of his collar. “Slow down,” He chastises, helping Hyrule right himself.

A moblin roars, grabbing Time’s attention just as it swings its club at him. Time blocks the blow, gritting his teeth as his arms waver under the sheer power behind the attack. An arrow landing in its shoulder is all Time needs to get the upper hand and dispose of the moblin quickly.

It’s quickly replaced with another. And another. Soon, Time finds himself surrounded by all kinds of monsters from all time periods, swords and spears and arrows trying to find the weak spots in his armor.

The moonlight provides the only source of light, the full moon causing the steal of weapons and arrows to catch the light with a glint. It guides Time as he fights to thin out the horde and get to the others. Claws tear at the gaps between his armor, slicing any flesh open and letting the blood run free. Heaving for breath, Time swings the claymore with everything he’s got, cutting down the monsters in his path and struggling to stay upright as they cling to his back and sides. A spin attack dislodges them, only for more to replace them.

He hears Warriors cry out in pain, and Time’s focus shifts from killing his enemies to finding Warriors as soon as possible. Time is a terrifying sight to behold, throwing monsters off him like they weigh nothing and swiveling his head around with a wild look in his eye. When his gaze lands on Warriors on the ground and trying to hold off an axe with his sword, Time doesn’t hesitate to charge over with a furious roar.

“Thanks,” Warriors gasps out when Time kicks away the bokoblin, taking its axe and giving it a new home in a Lizalfos’s shoulder. It shrieks and falls back.

Warriors goes to stand, only for his legs to give out. Time heads him muffle a cry, and when he looks down, he sees that Warriors’s leg is bent at an angle too odd to be natural. Without a word, Time positions himself between Warriors and the oncoming monsters, gripping his claymore tightly.

“Look out below!” He hears Legend yell. Time jumps back just as fire sprays down from above. The monsters screech and scramble away, creating much needed space between them and Time. Legend jumps down from above, wielding a fire rod. As soon as more space is created, Legend grabs at something on his chest, cutting off the flames from his fire rod and replacing it with an eerie, ice blue glow.

“You might wanna stand further back for this!” Legend shouts over his shoulder. What looks like lightning crackles around his form as Time backs away from him and toward Warriors, who has his back pressed against a large boulder jutting out from the ground.

Just as Time had predicted, pale blue bolts of lightning burst from Legend’s chest, striking anywhere and everywhere. Time scrambles back as a stray bolt hits a little too close, and when he sees it send a convulsing monster to the ground, Time takes a few extra steps away for good measure. He takes an _extra_ extra step when the monster doesn’t get up.

Despite the danger, Legend gets the job done. It only lasts around ten seconds, but the lighting is quick to annihilate everything in its path. If the monsters aren’t dead after the lighting strikes them, they are left paralyzed on the ground and are quickly finished off by arrows—presumably from Hyrule. Legend falls to one knee when the magic fades away, breathing heavily as Time rushes over.

“Don't flip your shit,” Legend grunts as Time kneels before him. “That just takes a lot out of me. I'll be fine."

Hyrule jumps down from the top of the boulder and kneels beside Warriors, looking at his broken leg. Legend glances behind him and groans at the sight.

“Get me over there before he starts trying to heal Warriors,” Legend grunts, leaning into Time’s hold when he stands them up. “This is why _I _used the lightning,” he mutters.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Time comments as they make their way over to the other two. Legend snorts.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

_I could say the same, _Time's mind whispers.

When they reach Warriors and Hyrule, Legend plops down beside them and digs through his bag. Before any of them can get a word in, He pulls out two potions; a blue potion that’s quickly shoved into Warriors’s hands, and a red one for the rapidly growing dark stain in Hyrule’s side.

“This should help with the leg. Hyrule can do a touch up if you need it.”

“Shouldn’t we save our potions?” Hyrule asks as Warriors uncorks his and starts chugging.

“Better the potions than your magic,” Legend says, shooting Hyrule a pointed look. Hyrule starts drinking his own potion.

“Your magic is better suited to emergencies,” Time adds, grabbing Hyrule’s attention. “And you already used a lot of it on the bridge earlier, _and_ you’re injured.”

“Yeah, about that,” Warriors pipes up, handing the now empty bottle over to Legend. “We got separated from the others again, didn’t we?”

Hyrule grimaces as Time sighs. “I believe that is the case,” Time replies. “I haven’t seen any of the others since we landed here.”

“Here’s to hoping they’re not across the country,” Legend gripes, eliciting a chuckle from Time.

“Knowing our luck, that probably happened.”

“And knowing our luck, the sky being red means something bad, doesn’t it?” Warriors asks, looking past them and up at said sky.

Time follows his gaze, noting that the sky is indeed red, the source coming from the moon—which is nearly at the peak of the sky. Tiny, black and pinkish-red particles float in the air, and with them a distinct feeling of _wrongness_ settles in his chest and squeezes.

“There’s no way in hell that _doesn’t _mean something bad,” Legend states sourly.

* * *

Wild pulls his sword out of the body of a moblin with a huff, considering the corpse for a second before deciding that he has enough monster parts and would rather not go through the trouble that is dealing with a very squeamish Sky.

Speaking of Sky, the other hero is currently eyeing the plethora of dead monsters around them with a wrinkled nose. He sees him take out a cloth and start wiping all the darkened blood off the Master Sword.

Wild jogs over to him. “Did you see all that lightning?” He asks.

Sky meets his gaze and nods. “Yeah, I did. Do you think the others are over there?”

Wild hums. “I don’t know. That didn’t look like Hyrule’s magic, but there aren’t any monsters that can summon lightning like that, right?”

“As far as I know, no. But—”

“**_Wild!_**”

Sky and Wild whip around to see a tiny figure waving their arms and jumping in place from across the canyon, a taller figure beside them looking to be fiddling with something. There’s a tiny flash of blue.

“Wild!” Wild _jumps_, hands flying to his Sheikah Slate. He really needs to tell Wind to not scream his name every time he does that. Sky peers over his shoulder as Wind and Twilight’s faces appear on the screen. Aside from some dirt and a couple scratches, they look fine.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asks.

Wild has a nasty gash in his side with some deep claw marks on his arm. Sky has a cut on his head, but it’s minor and not nearly as bad as the arrows in his left arm, which is strategically hidden from Twilight’s view.

“We’re good,” Wild replies. “Are the others with you?”

“No. I was hoping they’d be with you.”

“Uh, Wild?” Sky murmurs.

“Where do you think they could be?” Wild asks, oblivious to Sky.

“I saw a bunch of lightning earlier,” Wind chirps. “That might’ve been Hyrule!”

“Wild…” Sky says again, slightly louder.

“It didn’t look like Hyrule’s lightning though,” Wild replies.

“But someone is probably over there,” Twilight hums.

“Wild!” Sky shouts, finally catching the attention of the person in question. Wild turns to ask him what’s wrong, when he sees a tiny bit of malice float through the air.

His head snaps up to look at the night sky, an ice cold sense of _fear_ taking hold of his body as the Blood Moon slowly nears the center of the sky.

_Why is there a Blood Moon? There hasn’t been once since the Calamity was sealed away!_

“Oh fuck,” He hears Twilight breathe.

Wild is suddenly _very_ conscious of the dead bodies lying around him and Sky. The dead bodies of monsters that were _infected_.

_And they’re about to be empowered by the Blood Moon._

He can already see the malice clumping together on the corpses, the bodies jerking and twitching in response as the moon glows brighter and brighter.

“Twilight,” He snaps, looking back to the screen. “We’re by Satori Mountain. Head north and get to the bridge. We’ll meet you there!”

With that, Wild shuts off the slate and starts running, Sky following close behind as the horde they just spent all their energy fighting against rises from the dead once more under the light of the Blood Moon.


	2. The Light of the Blood Moon

“Oh no. Oh no, this is bad. Oh, this is _so bad_. Oh—”

“Hyrule, buddy, now’s not the time,” Warriors interrupts, clapping a hand down on Hyrule’s shoulder. The poor kid is staring at the monsters in terror, which is an odd expression to see on someone like Hyrule, but Time can’t exactly blame him for the sight they’re seeing coupled with their current status.

Adrenaline worked against him. Time didn’t realize just how many cuts he had, all caused by spear heads or sword slashes, and all in the places where his armor either doesn’t properly cover his body or was chipped away. A closer look at Legend tells Time that a lizalfos was incredibly desperate, if the teeth marks on his shoulder and arm are anything to go by. They look deep, and they’re out of potions.

With the monsters slowly beginning to break free from the clutches of death, they’re running out of time to figure out just what they are going to do. Warriors and Hyrule aren’t terribly injured thanks to the potions, but Hyrule will be out cold if he tries to heal either Time or Legend, never mind both of them and never mind using a spell like Thunder—and Wild has all the stamina potions. Legend will only get hurt more if he goes out there, and using items may grab the monster’s attention away from the others. Time is in the same boat, his injuries shrieking in pain with every movement and his energy no more than a sliver.

_What do we do?_

The strategy Hyrule had used with the fire will only work for so long, and Warriors is used to dealing with hordes this size, but not by himself and not with monsters empowered by whatever is infecting them. Running away will only delay the inevitable conflict.

_It’s really come to this, hasn’t it?_

Legend pushes himself to his feet with a grunt, eyeing the monsters with a look of disdain, lip curling and eyes narrowed with a burning gleam. Hyrule slips free of Warriors’s hold and moves in front of him.

“You’re in no condition to fight!”

Legend barges past him. “We don’t exactly have the luxury to avoid battle,” He snaps. Time rifles through his bag as Warriors walks over to hopefully break up the conflict.

“I didn’t say that,” Hyrule protests, grabbing Legend’s arm. “But you can’t just—“

Legend rips his arm away and rounds on him. “And what do you suggest we do then, huh? Ask them to kindly fuck off? That’s not going to work!”

Warriors puts a hand on both their shoulders, stepping in between them. “And we don’t have time for stupid arguments like this! You two can bicker later!”

“You’re right,” Legend sniffs, spinning around on his heel and marching back toward where the monsters are beginning to amble toward them, movements rapidly growing more natural under the ominous red light. Legend only stops when Time holds out an arm and blocks his path.

“Don’t,” Time orders before Legend can say anything. “I can handle this.”

“Time,” Warriors growls, “you’re the one who has it the worst. If you think you’re in—“

Warriors stops mid-sentence when he sees what Time is holding. Time narrows his eye at him as Legend and Hyrule exchange a glance.

“We don’t have time for stupid arguments like this,” Time echoes.

“Time, _no!_” Warriors yells, storming towards him. “You’re too injured for this!”

“And there’s no time for anything else!” Time turns away, hands gripping the mask tighter. “I’m not going to risk your lives when I can take care of it.”

“But what if you don’t come back?” Warriors yells.

_That’s a risk I’m willing to take_.

Time slips the Fierce Deity’s mask on before Warriors can stop him, dark power shooting through his body and leaving trails of burning agony behind as his body shifts and morphs to the soul’s liking. He doesn’t bother to muffle his scream, knowing that it would be in vain anyway.

** _Calling upon my power now? After all these years? Those boys really are important to you, aren’t they?_ **

* * *

Four presses his back against the tree, a hand clutching at his side while he holds his sword in a defensive position. Water, mixed with flower petals and his own blood, laps at his feet as a resurrected moblin three times his height lumbers toward him, spiked club raised high above its head.

Time seems to slow as Four takes a deep breath, calling upon the little strength he has left. _Just a little more… just a little more…_

Four ducks at the last second, springing forward as the club strikes against the tree uselessly. While the moblin is vulnerable, Four slices his sword through its exposed abdomen and twists away before it can crush him as it falls with a loud thump. His side flares up in pain, the large claw marks he had gotten before the switch throbbing with every movement. More monsters make their way closer, monsters that had been taken care of before the red moon had made its appearance.

_I’m in so much trouble._

Without a second thought, Four raises his blade and let’s himself split apart. Within a heartbeat, Green and Blue are standing side by side while Red and Vio pull out the fire rod and the bow. No words need to be exchanged as they fall into a familiar formation, Green and Blue splitting off to grab the attention of the monsters while Red and Vio take care of them from afar and keep a lookout should anymore show up. All their left sides protest and throb under the claw marks, and with every injury one sustains, a dull ache echoes in the others.

So naturally, when Blue loses his footing in the shallow water and slips, they all feel the pain in their stomach when a spiked club slams into Blue’s, causing their breaths to hitch and for Blue to cry out.

Vio shoots the moblin looming over Blue immediately, his aim true and the arrow sinking into one of its eyes. It rears back, howling in pain—all the distraction Green needs to finish it off.

“I’ll watch over him,” Vio shouts, standing beside Blue’s crumpled form with his sword drawn and his bow slung over his shoulder. Green nods and turns to deal with a bokoblin. Red swings the fire rod at an unsuspecting lizalfos, and its pained screeches drown out every other noise as Green disarms the bokoblin and finishes it off with a stab.

_There’s so many!_

Green’s sword bites into the side of a moblin, but before he can go to finish it off, something heavy slams into his shoulders, large claws shredding his tunic and digging into his skin as the weight forces Green to the ground. He writhes underneath them, but every movement only makes them curl deeper into his body. Blood pours down his shoulders as he feels himself being lifted.

“Green!” He hears Red shout.

The claws keep Green from twisting around, but that doesn’t stop him from trying as he’s lifted higher and higher by an Aeralfos—or at least that’s what Twilight called them. The claws burrow deeper, and Green whimpers in response. He can’t break free; _he can’t break free_. _I can’t do anything. What’s going to happen to me? I have to get away, I have to—_

Hands grab his ankles, the weight of the person their attached to pulls Green down, which only makes the claws tear at his skin even more. Green yells as Vio clings to him, the Roc’s Cape waving in the wind as Vio pulls out Red’s fire rod.

“Cover your face!” He orders.

Green obeys, biting his lip as his shoulders shriek in protest when he moves his arms. He feels fire singe what’s left of his sleeves and hears the Aeralfos let out a bloodcurdling cry before the claws go slack and gravity reclaims him. Vio gathers him close, Green clinging to him as he kicks away the Aeralfos—causing the claws to rip out of his shoulders and further damage them. The Roc’s Cape slows their descent as the now charred body of the monster falls down the side of the mountain.

Green mentally shudders at their height. It had lifted him far higher than he thought, and from the looks of it, it was going to let him fall to his death.

“How bad is it?” Vio demands as soon as they’ve landed. Green’s legs immediately buckle under his weight and he nearly falls, Red grabbing his arms to support him being the only thing keeping him up.

“Really bad,” he grunts, feeling lightheaded. “They’re deep. I think I’m gonna…”

And as if a switch had been flipped, Green goes limp and sinks into Red’s arms, who struggles to hold him upright.

“Dammit,” Vio curses, helping Red lay Green down next to Blue in the water. Red props them up so they’re leaning against him, keeping their injuries out of the water polluted with blood. “We’re alone. We don’t have any of the potions or bandages.”

“We can’t let them die!” Red protests. “What would happen to us?”

“I didn’t say that, Red,” Vio snaps. “I’m trying to figure out what to do!” He kneels down beside his other parts and tears the tattered remains of Green’s tunic sleeves off, tying them together to form a glorified bandage. Red helps him wrap Green’s shoulders as best as they can, listening to Vio mumble under his breath.

“What if we fuse?” Red blurts out. Vio pauses.

“That… might not be a bad idea,” he replies. “It would lessen the intensity of our injuries, but will it be enough to keep us conscious?”

Red doesn’t answer, worrying his lip between his teeth. Green has those deep gashes in his shoulders, and the blood loss caused him to faint. Blue has several holes in his stomach from the club, and he hit his head on the way down and was knocked out. They all have the set of claw marks in their side, slowly oozing blood due to not being properly treated.

Vio meets Red’s gaze, looking just as lost and scared as Red feels. “What do you think we should do?” he asks.

Red doesn’t know. _He doesn’t know! _Why is Vio asking _him?_ Red has no clue! They can either stay separated and hope one of the others or a kind traveler finds them, or they can fuse and hopefully stay conscious long enough to find someone themselves. Neither option sounds good to him whatsoever!

“I…” Red looks down at Blue and Green, watching as the blood—_their blood_—soaks through the makeshift bandages. “I don’t want to be alone,” he whimpers. “I don’t want to…” He can’t bring himself to finish the words, instead desperately hoping Vio understands. He always does, after all.

Vio nods, looking pained in a different way from their other parts. He grabs Green’s sword, and Red grabs Blue’s.

In a flash of white, Four finds himself as one once more, and he immediately falls over onto his side with a gasp. While the injuries from Blue and Green have been “healed” in a way, they, coupled with his earlier injures, overwhelm Four’s senses and nerves, his mind scrambling to process both his physical condition and each set of memories while fighting to stay conscious.

He’s rapidly losing that battle. He vastly underestimated the state of his injuries.

Or maybe he just didn’t want to risk living without a piece of himself. Or _pieces_.

Either way, Four is in a bad place, and splitting won’t exactly help his predicament. If anything, that will just drain what little is left of his energy. He tries to lift himself up, only for his stomach and shoulders to screech in agony, stealing his breath and turning his strength to nothing. Four breathes through gritted teeth. _I will not die here. I’ve been in situations like this before. I will **not** die here._

His vision is blurring, darkening at the edges. He tries to blink it away, only for his sight to turn… green?

He must be hallucinating now. _Wonderful._ Four struggles to keep his eyes open, but ultimately fails when the pain and blood loss relentlessly tears at his consciousness. The last thing he sees before he slips away is a pair of hooves, oddly enough.

* * *

  
“Come on, Wind,” Twilight orders, “this way!”

He ushers the shorter hero in front of him, looking over his shoulder as they run alongside the canyon. The normally green fields are washed in red light as the infected monsters begin lumbering after them.

“What the _fuck_ is happening?” Wind shouts, scrambling to keep pace with Twilight.

“It’s called the Blood Moon,” Twilight explains between each labored breath. “When it rises, it revives every monster that has fallen in battle.”

They run for a few more moments with a tense silence between them, the roars and battlecries of the monsters behind keeping their feet pounding against the earth.

“There’s more than what you’re telling me,” Wind states.

Twilight sighs—though it sounds more like a huff. “It’s a Ganon thing.”

“Wait, but didn’t Wild kill his Ganon?”

“Yeah,” Twilight replies, pointing to the abandoned castle far in the distance. There is no sign of the Divine Beast’s red aiming lights, and there is no sign of the dark monstrosity circling the castle. “He did.”

This is cause for concern. If the Blood Moon is appearing again in Wild’s time period, then what’s to say other phenomenons aren’t appearing in other time periods as well? And resurrecting monsters of this caliber? While they’re split up? Twilight suddenly has a terrible feeling in regards to the others. Are they okay? What if he can’t find them? Or worse; what if—

“I’m calling time shenanigans and complete bullshit on this nonsense,” Wind gripes, snapping Twilight from his whirling thoughts. “Fucking Blood Moons? What’s next, the fucking nearly invincible Phantoms?” He pauses. “Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Despite the fact that he’s currently running away from a fresh set of monsters, beaten and battered and under a red light that causes the hair on the back of his neck to stick up, Twilight tilts his head back and barks out a laugh. Wind shoots him a grin, sweat causing his hair to stick to his forehead and cheeks flushed red with exertion.

Twilight chances another glance over his shoulder, only to yelp and duck as a fire arrow goes whizzing over his head, so close he can feel its heat as it goes past.

“Oh shit!” Wind shouts.

“Took the words right outta my mouth! Now zigzag!”

All bantering between them is put on pause as they swerve away from each other and avoid the plethora of arrows, some normal, some gleaming with the light of the elements.

And one odd ball that was a _bomb_ arrow. Twilight nearly lost his footing from the explosion, and he prays that there are no more on the enemy’s side.

“Pieces of fucking shit, your arrows are _shit tier_!” He hears Wind yell.

“Don’t antagonize them!” Twilight yells back. “And why do you have a tier list of _arrows_?”

“For this exact reason! Those ones are absolutely terrible and should be—_watch out!_”

Wind goes to skid to a stop as Twilight whips his head around. He barely has time to process the stalhorse speeding his way before it slams into him and sends both of them flying. The monster riding it is thrown off just before Wind is caught up in the tangle of limbs and bones. His stomach lurches as the air is suddenly pushing against him, when a hand grabs his sleeve and stops his descent. Twilight watches as the stalhorse and its rider fall down and down into the canyon, Wind’s other hand the only thing keeping themselves from following.

Wind lets out a groan, trying to lift Twilight up, and he quickly moves to help carry his own weight by scrabbling for a hold in the wall of the canyon. He freezes in place when a lizalfos peeks over the top and peers down at them, wielding a spear.

“Oh come the _fuck on!_” Wind snaps, sounding more infuriated than Twilight—which isn’t surprising, considering Twilight is more worried than anything. “Grab my legs!”

Twilight just closes his other hand around Wind’s calf when they’re suddenly falling away from the edge. And just as quickly, Twilight’s stomach lurches again as they’re… gliding? A glance up shows Wind holding a comically large leaf above his head in the same fashion as Wild with his paraglider, and he briefly wonders how it’s holding their weight.

“Fuck you!” Wind jeers as he turns them away from the wall and further into the canyon. “Woah, okay, this is so much harder with another person. Uh, hang on, hang on, _I’ve got this!_”

“Left!” Twilight yells as they zigzag through the air. “We need to go north, turn _left!_”

“If you wanna turn left so bad then lean with me!” Wind snaps back.

“I _am_!”

“Obviously you’re not because—agh!” Wind cries as an arrow embeds itself in his hand. He loses his grip on the leaf, and then they’re falling once more, Twilight yanking Wind close and curling around him protectively. They are weightless for seconds that feels agonizingly long before Twilight’s shoulder slams onto the hard, stone ground.

He _screams_.

“Oh fuck,” Wind scrambles off of him as Twilight grabs at the junction between his neck and shoulder, eyes squeezed shut. “Shit, shit, are you okay? You’re not okay oh shit oh shit!”

“I-I’m fine,” Twilight bites out, only to contradict himself completely when the slightest movement of his left arm sends waves of agony throughout his entire body.

“No you’re fucking not! Don’t even try to play that game with me! And stop touching it, you’re making it worse!” Wind pries his hand away, a grimace on his face as he observes the injury. ”Oh shit, that’s broken.”

“What’s broken?” Twilight hisses out.

“Your collarbone. No, wait, broken a lot. Like, shattered. Shit.”

“And you’ve got an arrow in your hand.”

“That’s not as bad as a broken collarbone, you dumbass! I speak from experience!”

“_What?_”

“Yell at me later!” Wind looks around them as Twilight lets out a pained groan. “How are we gonna get out of this canyon?”

_Oh no shit. How **are** they going to get out of this canyon?_

His ears twitch at the sound of a wolf howling in the distance.

* * *

  
Legend _gapes _at the sight before him. That mask—what the _fuck_ is that mask? Time’s screams send chills down his spine, and the sight of his body distorting like that has him feeling nauseous.

But in mere moments, Time is gone. In his place is a man who’s even bigger than Time, hair as white as snow and armor gleaming in the red light of the moon. With a massive double-helix claymore in his hands, the man narrows blank white eyes and charges into battle.

And what a sight _that _is.

“_Time!_” Warriors roars, chasing after him. Legend doesn’t know what Warriors is on, because no way in _hell_ is that Time. The man moves with a grace that does not fit the bulky, build of his body, swinging his weapon with fluid motions and pivoting to cover all sides. It’s frankly terrifying to see how effortless it all looks, as if the man was made to fight.

The man doesn’t even acknowledge Warriors’s presence, simply moving in a way that doesn’t endanger him. They work in such synergy that Hyrule pauses in his advance to help and stares at them from his spot beside Legend.

But despite how admirable he is, there’s a dark power lurking within him. Legend can feel it rolling off his body in waves, and it feels far too similar to the unsettling feeling in his chest courtesy of the red moon. He glances at Hyrule, only to find him staring at Legend already, green eyes wide.

“It’s not just dark,” he whispers. “It’s _wrong_.”

And yet, this supposed fountain of dark and wrong magic is fighting alongside Warriors, the two easily covering each other’s backs and devastating anything in their path. The monsters are cut down as easily as grass, infected and non-infected standing no chance even with their numbers.

Legend should be relieved.

Under the light of the red moon, the corpses of monsters lie on the ground and stain the grass with their blood. Warriors kneels on the ground, panting and leaning on his sword, while the man slowly turns and faces Legend and Hyrule. With heavy, meticulous steps, the man walks over to them, those white eyes giving away nothing of his intentions. Hyrule backs away, but Legend holds his ground, eyes locked with the man’s.

He comes to a stop before him, at least twice his height and looking down at him with a blank expression. Legend thought the man was fearsome before, but up close, he’s straight up monstrous. He has the markings Time has on both sides of his face, and while the scar across one eye is still there, both eyes are open and Legend _knows_ he can see, pupils or not. And what’s so eerie about him is how similar he looks to Time; they have the same face, the same eye shape, the same build—though the man is definitely bigger—and even the armor is almost a perfect mirror of Time’s.

_Just what is that mask? And where did Time get something like that? _He stiffens_. What did Warriors mean by what if—_

Pain blossoms in the side of his head and the world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title of this chapter: “Oh Shit.”


	3. Holy and Unholy

When Hyrule sees Legend crumple to the ground, his body moves before his mind can even begin to process his actions.

“_Legend!_” The cry tears from his throat as he runs toward his limp form, stretching out a hand. He fails to notice the… _thing_ hooking that monster of a blade to its back, those unnatural eyes locked onto him. His sights are set on Legend and only Legend, the instinctual part of his mind screaming to _check for a pulse, check for more injuries, check for a concussion!_

That train of thought is halted by a giant hand flying out. Hyrule tries to duck under it, only for it to grab the collar of his tunic. His own hands raise to scrabble at its hold as he is lifted effortlessly and forced to meet the gaze of whatever the _hell_ _that is_.

Its very aura makes him feel sick to his stomach, more so than the blatantly dark power that’s behind the red moon. It’s a menacing and distorted kind of magic that’s making up this creature, twisted and _wrong, so wrong! _A power like this isn’t possible. It shouldn’t exist. _How does it exist? _Every part of Hyrule wants to either get as far away from it as he possibly can, or destroy it with every ounce of magic in his system until nothing but ashes remain—and then some.

“Legend,” he gasps out as the _thing_ hefts Legend’s unconscious form up—he didn’t even notice Legend’s tunic was in its grasp. “Wake up!”

Legend needs to wake up, or else Hyrule is _screwed. _Bad enough this _thing_ is already housing a tremendous amount of power within itself, but if it can use Legend as leverage against him, he’s already lost. Never mind the fact that Hyrule is already in its grasp as well.

“Le—grk!” Hyrule’s feeble attempt at calling out to his friend is interrupted by the _thing_ tightening its grip on his tunic, partially cutting off his intake of air. His heart pounds in his chest, his magic—what’s left of it—surging to his fingertips in response as fear starts to cloud his senses.

“What the hell are you doing?” He hears Warriors shout from afar, snapping Hyrule from his panicked thoughts just enough to halt the buildup of magic in his fingers. _Not while it’s holding Legend_. “Let them go!”

To Hyrule’s surprise, it listens to Warriors. The hand fisted in his collar lets go, and Hyrule coughs as he goes to inhale the air he’s missing, uttering a curse when he hears Legend groan from beside him.

“_These two should not exist_,” the _thing_ states in a voice that makes Hyrule’s blood run cold. It sounds almost exactly like Time, but more sinister and otherworldly and _wrong, wrong, so very wrong!_

“_It is from our failure that their timeline thrives. They live off our deaths…_”

Legend sits up, a hand pressed against his temple. Hyrule’s hands automatically support him, his mind whirling as he tries to figure out just what the _thing’s_ words mean. They shouldn’t exist? They live off its failure? That doesn’t make any sense!

Hyrule chances a glance at it, only to see it reaching for the handle of its weapon.

“…_like **maggots**_.”

“Legend,” Hyrule hisses, urgency lacing the fear in his voice. Not good. Definitely not good. He could really use an awake and alert Legend right about now!

“Ugh, what?” Legend grumbles, cracking open an eye as Hyrule shakes him with trembling hands. There is a brief moment of relief in seeing Legend looking relatively okay, aside from the possible concussion and the plethora of lizalfos teeth marks in his right arm.

That relief almost immediately turns to dread.

“_We are here to correct our mistake_,” the _thing_ says in a booming voice that causes both Hyrule and Legend to stiffen. “_And as a favor to my host, I shall be merciful, and make their deaths quick and painless_.”

_Wait… what?_

He turns his full gaze to the _thing_, eyes widening and skin paling in response to it looming over them, silver armor tinted red in the light of the moon and blank white eyes glowing amidst the shadows and darkened blood on its face. Hyrule barely has time to blink before the claymore is swinging down.

* * *

  
“Sky, we have to help them!” Wild cries, running to the edge of the canyon where they just witnessed Wind and Twilight falling into the dark depths below. They can still hear them yelling, and Sky feels goosebumps raise along his skin when he hears Twilight scream as he grabs Wild’s arms to stop him.

“Wild, stop,” Sky shouts. “If we go after them, we’re only going to lead the Aeralfos to them!”

Wild rounds on him, ripping his arms free from Sky’s grasp. “Are you suggesting we just _leave them?_”

“No, I—“

“I’m not leaving them!”

“I didn’t say that,” Sky snaps. “I’m saying that we need a plan!” He jabs a finger at the horde steadily drawing closer and closer. “What are we going to do about that?”

Wild considers him for a moment, which makes Sky want to rip his hair out because _hello? Monsters! Headed right towards us!_

“How good are you with a bow?” Wild asks.

“Good enough,” Sky shoots back, fighting the urge to tap his foot impatiently.

Wild pulls out his Sheikah Slate and with a quick tap, a bow materializes from thin air into Wild’s hand, a quiver of arrows with yellow tips following. “Take these, shoot the Aeralfos. When the other monsters start running after you, head towards that mountain.”

Wild points to the only mountain within running distance, and Sky frowns at the green mist coming from it. Before he can comment on it, Wild shoves the bow and arrows as well as two blue elixirs into his arms.

“Drink one of those, it’ll last you ten minutes and make you go faster. The other one is in case you need more. Head that way--" he points in a seemingly random direction-- "and you'll find the new bridge I built and get across the river,” he quickly explains, giving Sky whiplash with how fast he’s talking. “Sound like a plan?”

“Wait, why didn’t you give us these potions before?” Sky demands.

“Alright, you got this. Good luck!”

“_Wild!_” Sky yells, scrambling to tuck away the elixirs for when he actually needs them.

Wild has his paraglider out and is running for the edge of the canyon. “What? I panicked and forgot!”

“_How _did you _possibly_ forget about speed enhancing potions while we were _running away_?”

Wild doesn’t grace him with a reply, already in midair and steadily gliding into the canyon. Sky’s eye twitches, but he ignores the sheer ridiculousness of the entire situation and instead grabs an arrow and takes aim, the arrows still lodged in his left arm stinging. An Aeralfos goes to dive down after Wild, but Sky shoots the arrow in its direction, and is surprised by the burst of electricity that comes from it when the arrow meets its skin.

The Aeralfos falls to the ground, and Sky can imagine its body is convulsing while the electricity runs its course. With an uncontrollable smirk growing on his face, Sky shoots another Aeralfos down, effectively grabbing the attention of the other flying monsters. Sky shoots a third arrow, but one of the Aeralfos blocks it with its shield.

_And it’s time to run._

He slings the quiver over his shoulder from where it was dangling in the crook of his arm and starts running, grabbing one of the elixirs as he does so. A quick glance over his shoulder tells him that their… “plan”—if one could even call it that—is working.

He wouldn’t have needed to look behind him, it’s working so well. The fire coming from all the flying lizards is all the assurance he needs.

Sky downs the elixir, grimacing at the bitter, horrid taste. Immediately, he feels the contents of whatever is in that potion take effect, his body moving faster without any extra effort on his part.

_Much _better than the stamina fruits!

_Wild said to go to that mountain_, Sky relays in his head, eyes finding the green mist coming from the top of it. _But what **is** that stuff? _A fireball singes the right sleeve of his tunic, eliciting a startled gasp from Sky. _And what am I gonna do about these monsters? We should have discussed this further!_

It’s not like they had the time to, but Sky does _not _appreciate playing bait!

But then again, this keeps Wild, Wind, and Twilight safe—or as safe as they can get.

So Sky keeps running, swerving to avoid a blast of fire from time to time as he makes progress toward the mountain. With the elixir’s help, the monsters on foot start lagging behind, though the Aeralfos have no trouble keeping up with him, soaring through the air much like Loftwings.

He can’t say he likes that particular analogy.

His legs are starting to feel heavier and heavier with each step despite his speed as he runs across the bridge Wild was talking about. He’s almost to the mountain now, and at this proximity, he can see just how much of the green mist there really is. It seems to be spreading.

_Maybe that’s why Wild made me run here_, Sky thinks, _I can probably lose all those monsters in this mist!_

With renewed vigor at that thought, Sky pushes himself to keep running, _left foot, right foot, go go go! I’m almost there!_

But just as his body touches the mist, he freezes. Stopped, dead in his tracks, just like that as the mist swirls around him, blocking out the Blood Moon and leaving Sky in a world of green.

_I can’t… why can’t I move?_

His limbs refuse to cooperate, only giving little jerks and shakes in reply to his urging. A lump forms in his throat as he struggles to regain control of his own body, his racing heart roaring in his ears. Any second now, those monsters are going to catch up, and he’s going to be killed.

_Why did Wild tell me to come here?_

It’s as if he’s frozen on the inside, an icy chill in every part of his body and keeping him rooted to the spot. He can hardly breathe, short gasps the only air he can take in with him stuck in this state.

_I’m going to die at this rate!_

He’s surprised that the monsters haven’t caught up to him yet. Actually, now that he thinks about it… where did they go? Sky can’t hear anything aside from his own heartbeat and panicked breaths.

And then he sees it: four luminous yellow lights with a pair of what seems to be vine-like horns accompanying it. It draws closer to him, eerily silent and agonizingly _slow_. The mist seems to part, though it doesn’t relinquish its hold on Sky’s body, as the yellow lights draw closer—wait, those are _eyes_.

A mockery of Twilight’s horse steps into view, and Sky’s eyes would have widened at the sight if he could actually _move_. It doesn’t have much of a horse’s head, its mane acting as a horse’s snout and covering the entirety of its neck. There are two faces on the front that remind Sky of owls. The horns wave in the still air with every silent step, pulsing with a yellow light.

To say Sky is absolutely terrified is an understatement.

It makes no noise as it walks over to him, it’s body glowing blue and symbols appearing on what Sky thinks is its skin—but who knows at this point. It comes to a stop before him, peering down and locking its gaze to Sky’s. From there, they hold what can only be a staring contest—mandatory on Sky’s part due to not being able to physically move still—and as the seconds drag on, Sky feels himself begin to calm. His heart is no longer beating at a rapid pace, his limbs are no longer shaking and jerking, and his breaths—though still short—are no longer desperate gasps. Fear turns into curiosity the longer he stares at the creature.

Warmth slowly spreads through his body, and he starts regaining feeling in his fingers and toes. As the warmth travels, so does his ability to move, and soon Sky is standing straight and holding up a hesitant hand, mouth open in awe. The creature, the mist, the way time has seemed to come to a stop, it all feels holy in a sense. _Safe_.

Those thoughts are quickly chased away when the creature turns its body. Slung over its back is Four.

“Four!” Sky immediately reaches out, but halts when he notices the deep, jagged claw marks in his shoulders. Those weren’t there when Warriors was carrying him away from the fight back on the bridge.

The creature doesn’t move as Sky checks him over, instead gazing at him in what appears to be its own curiosity. Sky doesn’t bother to think about how odd that is, preoccupied with checking the puncture wounds in Four’s stomach. The injuries aren’t bleeding through the haphazardly done cloth bandages, and yet Four is still breathing with a pained look on his face. Sky glances at the creature, and it tilts its head. _Well? What are you waiting for? _It seems to ask.

Without further prompting, Sky gets to work undoing the bandages and reinforcing them with pieces of Four’s and his own tunic and undershirt. He doesn’t have much else, and he can always repair the clothing later.

And by repair, he means ask Legend to do it. Nicely, of course.

As he rewraps Four’s shoulders and begins on his stomach, the creature circles around them, silent as ever, but watchful—protective even.

To think that it instilled so much fear in him before.

When Sky is finished, he stands with Four cradled to his chest. The creature starts walking in the direction it came from, and when Sky doesn’t immediately follow, it turns its head back and gestures for him to come along.

“Thank you,” Sky murmurs. The creature nods and starts trotting, forcing Sky to keep up in a jog. From there, they travel up the mountain, no monsters to be seen under the cover of the green mist.

* * *

  
Legend has his shield out in front of him in a flash, but that’s not what stops the claymore from cutting through his skin. That honor goes to the red barrier flickering in front of him. It stands strong despite the sheer power radiating from that _fucking piece of shit_.

Hyrule grunts from beside him, hands and eyes faintly glowing red as he keeps the barrier up. His eyes are squeezed shut, jaw clenched and teeth grinding together.

_He’s gonna pass out at this rate_.

The man—thing, fucker, Legend has yet to decide—pulls his weapon back, and immediately the barrier dissipates while Hyrule gasps for air. Legend jumps to his feet and stands between them, gripping his sword and shield so tight his knuckles are white.

He can’t even begin to describe the boiling rage surging through his body as he throws up his shield to block the next blow. His right arm screams under the crushing weight, his injuries sending waves of pain up his arm. He’s forced to slip away, spinning on his heel and slashing his sword at the man’s side. He’s blocked almost effortlessly.

“Hey!” Warriors grabs the man’s right arm before he can swing again, pulling him away. Legend takes several steps back, making sure Hyrule—who is leaning on one hand and pressing the other to his chest as he heaves—is in the corner of his eye as he glares something fierce at the man and Warriors.

“Deity, these are our _allies_,” Warriors exclaims, and it takes every ounce of willpower in Legend’s body to not let out a groan. _Deity_? Of course his _mere mortal presence _pisses off yet _another_ god. What else is new?

The Deity—fuckwad, Legend has decided—shrugs Warriors off and starts toward Legend again. Legend tenses, prepared to deflect another swing, when Warriors jumps in front of the Deity.

“I said _allies_,” he barks, taking on a commanding tone. “You will not harm them!”

The Deity stops, glaring down at Warriors. When the captain doesn’t budge, the Deity’s fist swings into his stomach. Warriors keels over, coughing.

“_Stay out of our way_,” it orders before slamming the butt of its sword into Warriors’s head. He falls to the ground and doesn’t get back up.

Legend takes a deep, shuddering breath, biting his lip and willing his arms to stop shaking. _Note to self, the guy throws a damn good punch, is absolutely terrifying, and is either fond of the royal “we” or just fucking crazy._

There’s nothing else stopping the Deity from making its way over to Legend, and Legend is the only thing standing between it and Hyrule. The Deity steps over Warriors’s body—unconscious, he’s just unconscious—and approaches Legend much like it did before.

Legend forces his body to calm down as it approaches, narrowing his eyes and expelling the tension from his limbs. The Deity is fast and powerful, and with that armor, it will be a pain in the ass to land a good hit on it. He’s going to have to use his height to his advantage and be faster than his opponent.

When the Deity goes to swing at him again, Legend is prepared. He deflects the blow with his shield and lashes out in a counter, only for the Deity to leap away. It swings again, and Legend ducks underneath and rolls to avoid the following stab.

Legend knows its merely assessing him. This is child’s play compared to what he saw before.

Well, he’s not about to give away all the tricks up his sleeve in an assessment.

The Deity swings at him once more. Legend blocks the swing with his shield again, and when the Deity starts a series of slashes just like Legend knew it would, he uses a mixture of his sword and shield to block, deflect, and evade. He twists and turns, keeping himself nimble and small, waiting for his opening. His sword and shield vibrate with every deflection, the metal ringing as Legend holds his ground.

His opening comes. The Deity overextends itself just as Legend leans out of the way of the claymore. He doesn’t waste it, his sword automatically moving to slice at its unprotected arm. He goes to move away, when a foot sweeps his legs out from underneath him.

_Oh fuck!_

Legend’s back hits the ground as he throws up his shield, barely managing to block the claymore from stabbing him in the chest. He’s not fast enough to properly block it, as it slides down and cuts his left side open. Gritting his teeth, he lashes out with a kick and feels a vicious kind of satisfaction when his boot finds the Deity’s chin. Legend scampers away before it can recuperate.

From there, the Deity turns _vicious. _With a distorted roar, it begins an onslaught of slashes, stabs, and swings that leave Legend scrambling to block and avoid. He is forced on the defensive, using his sword as a shield more than his actual shield.

At least, he was, until a burst of bright blue energy flies from the Deity’s claymore. Legend throws his shield up once more, letting the enchantment on it reflect the energy burst right back at the Deity. It sends it back with another swing of its claymore, and before Legend can gripe about the fact that they’re doing this back-and-forth shit _again_, the Deity is upon him once more, and his strategy of block, deflect, and dodge now includes reflect.

_Fuck this!_

Legend pulls back, moving away to try and put a little distance between them. He digs into his bag with his shield arm as he runs, and if he wasn’t currently locked in a fight with probably one of the most fearsome opponents he’s ever faced, the entire scene would be extremely comical. The Deity gives chase, sending more bursts of energy after him, and Legend doesn’t hesitate to abuse the power of his Pegasus Boots to dodge as he tries to find his _fucking fire rod, where the hell did he put it?_

His aching hand closes around it, and with a triumphant yell he pulls it out, only to discover that it’s the _ice_ rod.

“Dammit!” Legend doesn’t have time to find the one he’s looking for because suddenly the Deity is in front of him and _when did it get there what the fuck?_

Legend swings the rod without thinking, and the Deity takes the brunt of the ice spraying its way. It stumbles back on unsteady feet, ice encasing its chest and throwing it off balance.

On one hand, this is good, because now the Deity has extra weight to lug around and is now unbalanced due to more ice being on the back and left side. On the other hand, this is _terrible_, because Legend couldn’t get through the armor before, so how is he supposed to get through it now when it’s covered in ice?

Actually…

Legend hooks his shield on his back and sheaths his sword. He holds his ice rod in his left hand and fishes for the fire rod with his right. The Deity charges him, its steps awkward to accommodate for the ice.

His sword might be his best weapon, but he can’t always win his battles with a sword.

Legend pivots around the Deity, swinging the ice rod as he dodges. It rolls out of the way, cracking the ice on its body. It falls from its body in pieces.

_Oh. That’s bad for me._

He swings the ice rod again, trying to recreate the extra weight, but the Deity dodges once more, losing more of the ice in the process. Legend pants as he keeps trying to freeze it, his arms—the right one in particular—shaking in effort. He needs to finish this, and _fast_.

The Deity rushes him, and Legend goes to roll away, but the tip of its sword catches the side of his head. He feels the blood roll down his cheek as he hisses in pain.

_Oh, this is **really** bad for me._

He aims with the ice rod once more, side-stepping more slashes with unsteady feet and rolling away on a sore back when he can’t do anything else. His arms are so heavy now, and his hands feel like they’ve been crushed between two rocks, but he can’t stop, not when this fucking thing is still kicking. He ducks, rolls, twists, kicks, punches, freezes, everything he can think to do, but he gets nowhere new, and he _still can’t find his fire rod!_

But then he spots an opening.

He doesn’t hesitate to take it, swinging the ice rod up and letting its magic spring free. Ice shoots right into its eyes and the Deity rears back and yells in Time’s voice and _fuck that’s right, he’s fighting Time!_

That realization of Legend’s is the only thing the Deity needs. Legend falters, horrified that he’s been hurting Time, and the Deity sends a burst of energy right at him.

His vision turns white and agony explodes in his chest. Legend screams as he feels fire run its course through his veins, his body convulsing as his legs give out.

_No, no, no!_

Not like this. Legend bites the inside of his cheek, fighting to move his arms and pushing through the mind-numbing pain. _Bombos… where… where’s Bombos…?_

Another burst of agony lights more fires within his chest, the Deity undoubtedly taking no chances with those energy bursts. Legend screams again, losing feeling in his arms and legs. The ground vibrates as the Deity marches closer, and he can hear the hum of another burst charging up.

He can barely feel one of the medallions in his hand. Calling upon its magic, Legend cracks open an eye to see the Deity standing over him with its claymore raised.

“I’ve d-dealt with worse than you,” he bites out before his world turns to fire.

_I’m sorry, Time…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember when I said Liccy inspired this entire thing?  
Yeah. You can see the inspiration [here.](https://liccy.tumblr.com/post/188065123719)


	4. Secrets Revealed

The Deity rears back, dropping the claymore and covering its face with its arms as fire surges from Legend’s form. It stumbles over its own feet, letting out a distorted cry as the orange flames consume everything in the vicinity. The grass previously stained with blood is burned to a crisp, the bodies of the monsters left behind incinerating into ashes.

Aside from the crackle of flames, it was eerily silent as the Deity sits up with a pained groan. Its hands are covered in scorch marks, the gloves burned away and the metal of its armor warped and malleable, faintly orange from the intense heat. It experimentally bends its fingers, and when they move just how it wants them to, the Deity pushes itself to its feet and lumbers over to where Legend lies unconscious, blank eyes lock onto its weapon.

“Hey!”

It stops, hands closing into fists at the sound of the _other_ anomaly.

It turns around to see Hyrule crouching in the grass, still lush and green and in an unnatural shape due to what had to be the last of his magic blocking the fire. His green eyes have a feral gleam to them, his cheeks flushed red with exertion as he pants. With one hand, he holds Warriors up by his hair, the captain awkwardly leaning against Hyrule’s chest and still dead to the world from when the Deity had knocked him out.

And in Hyrule’s other hand, he holds his sword, the tip resting against Warriors’s neck.

“Take off the mask,” Hyrule demands in a chilling tone that books no room for argument. “Or I’ll slit his throat.”

The Deity stares at him, still an intimidating sight despite being unarmed and injured. It takes a step toward him, only to freeze when Hyrule hefts Warriors higher, lip curling into a snarl.

“Take off the mask, or I’ll slit his throat!”

The Deity blinks, face as emotionless as ever. It’s hardly an accurate depiction of what’s currently going on in its head. Inwardly, the Deity curses itself for having an attachment to the captain, for swearing to protect him against anything that desires to bring him harm just like what it promised to do for its host.

_Weak._

The anomaly presses the blade closer to the captain’s neck, droplets of blood running down its length. The Deity’s fists start to tremble due to it clenching then so tightly.

And to make matters worse, his host is beginning to stir, no doubt troubled by its distress. He will awaken from the meticulous sleep the Deity put him in soon. It has lost this battle.

A pity. The Deity had been so close to correcting the flow of time, too.

_Well_, its thoughts whisper as he gives the unconscious anomaly one last glance, _perhaps another time._

With no further prompting, the Deity raises its hands to its face, fingers catching on the slightest raise of its skin just behind its jawline. With a deep breath, it pulls the mask off, feeling the bindings of the mask tear its soul away from its host’s.

In a flash of white, Time gasps and falls to his hands and knees, yelping when his hands flare up in pain. Unbalanced, he collapses to the ground, mind whirling and body twitching as he slowly puts himself back together.

Meanwhile, Hyrule drops his sword, sheer relief numbing everything else at the sight of Time. That _thing _is gone, and Time is okay.

But one look at Warriors has the relief darkening into guilt, which claws at his heart mercilessly. The cut in his neck oozes just a slight amount of blood, and knowing that _he _caused it, knowing that he used Warriors’s body while he was vulnerable and helpless… it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

_But I wouldn’t have done it,_ he reassures himself, only to find that his own thoughts ring hollow. _I wouldn’t have… right?_

He finds that he doesn’t have an answer.

With a heavy heart, Hyrule carefully lies Warriors down and runs over to where Time is groaning on the ground. A closer look reveals that he has several burn marks on his face, and his hands—his hands are just…

“I’m an idiot,” he hisses to himself. “I should have l-listened to Legend. I should have…” Hyrule swallows around the lump in his throat as he tries to summon any kind of magic to help. Immediately, his vision goes black and his ears begin to ring as the world spirals away.

A hand weakly grasping his wrist grounds him, and Hyrule shakes his head to chase away the nausea. When he cracks open an eye, he sees that it’s Time’s scorched hand loosely wrapped around his wrist, skin an angry red color. Hyrule looks up and sees Time staring at him with his one blue eye. It’s… filled with tears.

Time opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is an unintelligible rasp. He mumbles under his breath, stray tears rolling down his cheek as he locks Hyrule in place with his piercing gaze filled with sorrow and grief.

“I’m sorry,” he makes out. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

Hyrule can feel his own eyes welling up with tears. He shoves away the urge to cry, instead gently pulling away from Time’s grasp and giving him a small, weak smile.

“I need to check on Legend,” he murmurs. Time’s eye widens at the mention of Legend, and the normally stoic man just looks so _broken_ that Hyrule has to turn away before he breaks right alongside him. Legend lies in a crumpled heap on the ground not too far away, and as Hyrule jogs closer, he immediately grows even more worried.

He thought Time was in bad shape, especially with those burns on his hands, but Legend is far worse than Hyrule thought he would be. The bite marks, the deep cut in his side, the signs of electrocution due to the burn marks on his tunic, and Hyrule knows Legend used a lot of energy with those medallions.

All to preserve his own magic, which ended up being in vain anyway.

He feels more than hears something moving behind him. In a flash, Hyrule whips around with his sword out, only to falter when Warriors throws his hands up.

“It’s just me!” He yelps. “Calm down, Hyrule!”

“Don’t…” Hyrule goes to admonish him for sneaking around, but his eyes land on the cut in his throat and the words die on his tongue.

Warriors, always the sharp one, catches on to Hyrule’s discomfort instantly. He raises an expectant eyebrow.

Hyrule fidgets, wanting to do anything else if it means not having this conversation. “That was me…I’m sorry. That… _thing_ would have gotten Legend and I panicked and—“

Warriors puts his hands on Hyrule’s shoulders, cutting him off before he can begin rambling. “It stopped Deity, though?”

Hyrule nods, numb.

“Then I don’t care,” Warriors states, and the guilt in his heart only grows. “Now let’s see what we can do to help them.”

As they get to work tearing Hyrule’s green tunic into makeshift bandages, Hyrule tries to banish the slowly growing hole within.

_I wouldn’t have done it_, he repeats to himself as he helps Warriors remove Time’s armor. _I wouldn’t have done it_, he whimpers to himself as he wraps Legend’s sides with the shreds of his tunic. _I wouldn’t have done it_, he cries to himself as Legend and Time fight a losing battle while all he does is wallow in guilt and shame.

_I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t I wouldn’t **I wouldn’t I—**_

* * *

  
“Dammit,” Wind curses, frantically looking around. He’s had only a few run-in with wolves before, and they were _nasty_, leaving Wind battered with angry claw marks everywhere on his body. Twilight groans from his spot on the ground, and Wind can see him itching to grab at his collarbone, face scrunched up in pain.

“Where are they… where are they?” Wind mumbles, scanning their surroundings for any signs of the wolves.

Only, a flash of red from far above catches his eye, and suddenly Wind has far more pressing matters to worry about than a potential skirmish with some wolves.

“Oh _shit!_” Wind throws his shield up just in time to block the fire arrow. His shield promptly catches fire, and Wind yelps as he flings it away before he can get burned. A second arrow flies down after the first one, and Wind leaps out of its path.

A third arrow, oddly enough, goes _up_ towards the source of the other two, and Wind belatedly realizes that the arrow is not coming from a monster, but a very familiar black and blue blur high above them.

Wild shoots several more arrows with a speed that leaves Wind feeling dizzy before pulling out his paraglider once more, gliding in circles and steadily going down, down, down. He lands next to Wind, dropping his glider without a care and rounding on him. His hands grab his shoulders, bright blue eyes filled with worry as he gives Wind a onceover.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” He demands, and Wind shrugs him off.

“I’m fine, but Twi has a broken collarbone!”

Wild immediately rushes to where Twilight is laying out on the ground, Wind hot on his heels.

“Hey, cub,” Twilight greets with a wobbly smile. “You said you were fine,” he accuses.

“I _am_ fine,” Wild huffs, flicking through his Sheikah Slate while Wind keeps a lookout. “You’re the one with the broken collarbone.”

“Look at your arm and say that again,” Twilight deadpans.

Wild glances down at his arm. “You’re the one with the broken collarbone,” he repeats, a red potion materializing in his free hand.

Twilight snorts. “Smartass.”

“Uh… Wild?” Wind grabs a fistful of his tunic, gaining his attention. “Wolves.”

They slink towards them, lips pulled back to show their fangs as they snarl. They hardly make any noise as they slowly close in on the three, more and more appearing from the shadows.

“Uh,” Wild utters. He promptly hands Twilight the potion and then grabs his wrist, tapping away at the slate again. “Fuck that.”

Before Wind can ask what they’re going to do, his world turns blue.

* * *

Sky pants as he comes to a stop besides the creature, glancing down at Four and checking on the makeshift bandages. Despite the amount of jostling due to Sky running and climbing, Four is still out cold, and he’s still not bleeding even with the gaping wounds.

But he’s breathing.

“Where are you taking me?” He asks the creature—though he’s starting to think its more of a spirit now. The spirit glances his way, but then starts trotting up the path once more. Sky follows, ignoring the heaviness in his limbs. He wasn’t exactly expecting an answer anyway.

They make their way up one last steep hill when Sky sees it: one of those Shrine things, and on the ground right in front of it are Wild, Wind, and Twilight, the latter of the three sipping a potion with a pained look on his face while the other two hover around him.

It’s Wind who spots him first. “Sky!” He yells, causing Wild and Twilight to look his way. The second Wild and Wind move to run towards him, the spirit rears up with a whinny and disappears in a puff of green mist.

The effect is immediate. The green haze around them fades away, and Four lets out a pained groan in his restless sleep. When Sky looks down, he sees that while Four wasn’t bleeding before, he _definitely_ is now. The tattered tunics acting as bandages are soaked through with blood by the time Sky rushes over to them.

“Please tell me you have more potions,” Sky says as he and Wild carefully lay Four down beside Twilight.

“I have plenty,” Wild replies. Together, they treat Four as best as they can while Twilight works on getting the arrow out of Wind’s hand. It’s touch-and-go for a while, as Four blearily slips in and out of consciousness with pained mutters and groans. Sky thanks his lucky stars that they recently stocked up on medical supplies, as Four needed a plethora of bandages and three potions before either Sky or Wild deemed him stable.

“What _was_ that thing?” Wind asks from where he’s curled into Twilight’s side.

“What thing?” Wild asks as Sky cradles Four close in an attempt to make him more comfortable while he finishes up the bandages.

“That weird horse-looking thing!”

Sky glances up. “It was friendly,” he says, “but what was it?”

“That what we call the Lord of the Mountain,” Wild replies, before spluttering. “Wait a second—it was _friendly _towards you?”

Sky tilts his head. “Yes? It brought Four to me and then lead me here.”

Twilight laughs, startling them all. “I _told _you it was a friendly spirit!” He exclaims, looking at Wild.

Wild throws his arms up in indignation. “Then why does it always run away from me?”

“Oh, I don’t know… how about the fact that you tried to _tame it like a horse _the first time you saw it!”

“You tried to _tame it_?” Sky shouts, gaping at Wild. “_Why?_”

Wild huffs. “Because I wanted to!”

“And that’s why it won’t go near you,” Twilight chuckles.

“It’s a _holy spirit!_” Sky yells. “They are not to be treated as pets!”

“But—”

Wild is cut off when an orange light appears in the corner of his eye. He turns to look, and he gapes when he sees that it’s not just an orange light, but _fire_.

“How much do you want to bet that’s the rest of our companions,” Twilight asks, following his gaze. The fire fades as quickly as it came, but it’s enough to tell them that there’s something powerful down the mountain, and whether that something is a monster or one of their companions is unknown.

“They’re still fighting,” Sky murmurs. He meets Wild’s gaze, and they both know exactly what the other is thinking. Twilight looks between them and sighs, standing up and rolling the shoulder that previously housed his broken collarbone.

“Wind, can you stay here with Four?” Twilight asks, looking down at the youngest hero.

Wind crosses his arms. “Why can’t I go with you guys?”

“Because Four needs someone here to watch over him, just in case any monsters show up,” Twilight replies evenly. Wind narrows his eyes at him, but Twilight holds his ground and stares back. Finally, Wind nods with a sigh.

“Yeah, I can do it.”

“Thank you,” Sky says, adjusting Four so he’s lying on the extra clothing he and Sky are currently not wearing. Wind sits beside him, looking down at their smallest companion in worry. Before Sky can turn away, Wind gasps and pulls out a tiny leaf.

“If you want to get down this mountain quickly, use this!” Wind explains. “Twilight knows how it works!”

With a nod, Sky walks over to Twilight and Wild, holding out he leaf for Twilight to take. “Wind says you know how to use this.”

Twilight takes the leaf with a sheepish grimace. “I don’t like the thought of gliding,” he says.

Wild already has his paraglider out. “Oh it’s not that bad!”

Sky unhooks the sailcloth from his shoulders. “It’s really not.”

Twilight sighs.

* * *

When Legend blinks open his eyes, he immediately wishes he hadn’t. His entire body lights up in pain, and his chest is easily housing the worse of it all. A glance to his right shows Four, who’s bundled up in Wild’s Snowquill set and being held captive by Sky and his infamous cuddles, and a glance to his left shows Time with every inch of his hands covered in bandages sitting beside him...

Wait… _Time!_

Legend goes to bolt upright, when his body refuses his command and intensifies the pain. Legend can’t stop the groan from ripping out of his throat, aching hands raising to press against his chest. Everything comes back to him in a rush, making his head spin as he recalls the fight with the Deity—with _Time._

“Hey, hey,” Time murmurs, placing one of those bandaged hands on his own. Legend catches the pained look on his face as he does so. “You had quite a number done on you. Slow down, or else your injuries will reopen.”

Legend stares at Time’s hands. He doesn’t remember doing anything specific to his hands. The last thing he remembers is the feeling of being shocked multiplied by bullshit and… and trying to cast Bombos.

Did he pull it off? Legend looks up at Time to see a speckle of burn marks dotting his face alongside some tiny cuts from where he sprayed ice at him. Time gives him a sad smile, and Legend wants to crawl into the nearest hole and rot away.

_I did that to him…_

He looks back down at Time’s hands. He knows there are burns under those bandages. Severe burns, if Time’s pain is anything to go by. _I did that to him too…_

Guilt surges up in his chest, taking his heart and squeezing without remorse to the point where he almost forgets the pain. “I-I…” Legend’s words fail him, but Time shakes his head.

“This isn’t your fault,” He utters.

Legend would have begged to differ, but he spots Hyrule jogging towards them and decides to save that conversation for later.

“You’re awake,” He exclaims in a whisper, relief flooding his green eyes. He looks fine, no signs of injury anywhere, but he’s not wearing his green tunic over the brown undershirt and he can see something lingering behind the relief on his face. He doesn’t miss the way Time automatically pulls away, giving them some space and avoiding eye contact.

_Goddesses above, what did we do to each other?_

“How are you feeling?” Hyrule asks.

“Like shit,” Legend replies, barely holding himself together. After everything they just went through, Legend can at least act normally, if not for his sake then for everyone else’s.

But to his dismay, Hyrule sighs. “I don’t doubt it,” he murmurs. “You were in really bad shape by the time the others found us.”

He sees Time flinch out of the corner of his eye. “Spare me the details,” Legend mutters. “I’ll figure it out.” It’s a clear dismissal, and he knows Hyrule catches his meaning when he sees his shoulders droop ever so slightly.

He nods, though he doesn’t look very happy about it. He stands up, giving the two a nod.

“I’m on watch, so you should try to get some more rest.”

With that, Hyrule turns and walks away, footsteps as silent as ever as he begins to patrol around what is presumably their campsite. Legend turns to Time, and the older hero meets his gaze evenly, a dull, blank expression on his face.

“We need to talk,” Legend states.

“I suppose we do,” Time agrees.

Legend makes grabby hands for him, and when Time reaches down with a hand, Legend balks. “Not your hands, stupid! I’m not gonna touch them while they’re covered in bandages and shit! Just let me grab your arm.”

Time huffs out a laugh—progress!—and adjusts his arm so Legend can properly grab it and haul himself up. His chest protests, but he grits his teeth and pushes through the pain. He’s dealt with far worse, after all.

He’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

His chest aches with a pain that’s deeply rooted within, and his right arm sends shockwaves through his body and causes his head to spin. Time steadies him before he can fall over, and Legend hates how utterly _weak_ he feels.

To think that Time was capable of doing… _this._ Or rather… whatever that mask houses. Was it even giving its all in that fight? Or was it toying with him?

Legend’s eyes are once again drawn to Time’s hands. They are both capable of such destruction, and instead of using it to keep their companions safe from harm, they used it against each other. Self defense, possession, whatever the reason may be, they have to live with the consequences now.

Legend feels like he deserves to know what the _fuck _that was all about.

Which is why he doesn’t wait for Time to start what is going to be a long and arduous discussion. Instead, Legend looks up at him and blurts out, “What is that mask?”

Go big or go home.

Time winces. “That’s a very long story.”

“I don’t need its history,” Legend drawls. “I just want to know what it _is._ And why it attacked us!”

Time takes a deep breath and releases it in a heavy sigh. “The mask houses a spirit within. It calls itself the Fierce Deity and it has taken to… protecting me, in a sense.”

“Protecting you?” Legend questions, narrowing his eyes. “From _us_?”

“From you and Hyrule, specifically,” Time answers.

From him and Hyrule specifically? Why? What did they do to get on this “Fierce Deity’s” bad side? Legend could see _himself_ getting on its bad side due to his attitude alone, but Hyrule? Why Hyrule?

He must look more than a little confused to Time, as he gives him a wry smile. “It’s nothing you two did, but rather what I failed to do.”

“Can we cut the cryptic bullshit out?” Legend groans. “I don’t have the right set of mind for your stupid ass riddles.”

That gets a chuckle out of Time, but the laughter doesn’t reach his eye. “Remember our so-called Timeline?”

“_That_ monstrosity?”

“That monstrosity, yes.”

“What about it?” What does this have to do with an angry god? 

“We were right,” Time says. “But we didn’t have all of it figured out.”

Legend straightens up. “Wait, so you’re telling me that Wind and Twilight actually_ are_ your successors in branching timelines?”

“Correct.”

“That’s _ridiculous._”

“Is that not the story of our lives?” Time asks with a twinkle in his eye.

Legend lets out a bitter laugh. “No, it is, but I’m still going to complain about it. What makes you so confident that we’re right? And what does this have to do with that Fierce Deity guy?”

Time sobers up immediately, and Legend almost regrets even bothering to ask. _Almost._ “The Fierce Deity has a better understanding of the flow of time than I ever will, and because I share its memories, I know _your_ placement in this timeline.”

“…What?” How could he possibly know? They have never been able to figure out where Legend would be due to so many historical documents being destroyed in the Imprisoning War. Not to mention the fact that _nobody else _in their little group knows about the Imprisoning War except _maybe _Hyrule, who has even _less _recorded history than he does! They only know Hyrule comes sometime after Legend because there are stories about Legend in his time period. Other than that, there’s little to nothing connecting them to the rest of their history.

“When I defeated Ganon, I caused the timeline to split,” Time continues as Legend squashes down his impatience. “Princess Zelda sent me back in time to relive my childhood. When I am sent back, I am thrown into another timeline altogether, and that eventually leads to Twilight’s time period. The timeline I left leads to Wind’s time period.

“But there’s a third split that leads to your time period.” Time falters then, guilt practically radiating off of him. Legend has a very bad feeling about what’s to follow, but he doesn’t go to stop Time, instead watching as the old man gets a grip on himself and meets Legend’s gaze. “That third split is caused by my defeat in the battle against Ganon.”

Legend’s eyes widen, his breath catching in his throat as a chill seizes his body.

_“These two should not exist. It is from our failure that their timeline thrives. They live off our deaths… like **maggots**.”_

His chest burns, his arm stings, he can’t _breathe_—

_The Defeated Hero_…

Time bows his head. “Everything that’s happened to you and Hyrule is because of my failure.”

In order for Legend to live, Time must die. In order for Time to live, Legend must not exist. That’s why the Deity wanted to kill him and Hyrule. 

And yet here they are, breathing the same air, nursing injuries inflicted by the other, going on a journey _together_ to stop a creature in the shadows from destroying their home across multiple ages.

“How old were you?” Legend blurts out, causing Time to look up in surprise. Legend _has _to know. He already knows what Time was up against—or at the very least, he has an _idea_ of what Time was up against—but for him to have failed…

“I was sixteen,” Time answers carefully.

“Bullshit,” Legend snaps. “Your _real _age. How old were you?”

A tense silence falls between them. Legend holds his ground, unwavering and prepared for an answer he already has. Time fights a battle within, having already caused Legend so much pain and unwilling to inflict more.

But eventually, Time takes another deep breath before answering, “I was nine.”

Legend hates a lot of things in that moment. He hates whatever force brought them together. He hates the Fierce Deity for bringing this revelation to light. He hates the pain and misery on Time’s face. He hates himself for being the cause of that pain and misery. He hates their home for throwing all their problems on a boy and expecting him to fix it. He hates the gods for allowing this to happen to both them and the rest of their companions.

But most of all, Legend holds a deep hatred for Ganon, and he feels his blood boil as he seethes with _rage. _

“Nine years old.” Legend laughs again, a hysterical bitterness disguising the amount of _fury _threatening to burst from him. “You were _nine years old. _And let me guess, you were handed a sword and told to save the world?”

Time says nothing, and Legend knows he hit the nail right on the head.

“No fucking _wonder_ you died,” Legend continues, knowing how insensitive he’s being and not caring in the _slightest_. “You were a _child_. Did you even _learn _how to use that sword before you were forced to kill with it? Did you even know the people you were saving before sacrificing everything for them? Did you even know how to use your own body after waking up from t-that stasis?”

“Legend,” Time murmurs, but Legend ignores him.

“Even the _Master Sword _knew you were too young, and our kingdom d-didn’t bother to help you.” Legend can feel himself smiling, and he can feel the wetness on his cheeks. “It’s nice t-to know that some—some things don’t change, h-huh?”

The rage in his system withers away into an indescribable sadness, and Legend desperately tries to fight it, to get the _fury _back, because it’s so much easier to be angry. It’s so much easier to scream and rage than it is to battle through grief and emotions he hardly understands. The agony in his chest is both physical and mental, his body shaking from the strain. He tries to say something, anything to get the anger back, but he only succeeds in letting out a choked noise as his body refuses to cooperate.

Arms wrap around him, bandaged hands—shaking and injured because of _him_—pulling his body against a warm chest.

“Y-you bastard,” Legend manages to bite out, not bothering to fight against the embrace. “This is s-supposed to b-be the other way around…”

But Legend can feel Time trembling. He can feel the tears falling into his hair. He can sense the guilt and grief and _pain _in Time’s heart.

“Your kingdom failed _you_,” Legend says through tears. “Your k-kingdom failed you because you were the b-best fucking thing t-to ever happen to it.”

Time’s arms tighten their hold.

“T-this isn’t your fault.”

Time’s breath shudders in his chest.

“Ganon d-did this to us, n-not you.”

Time breaks. Legend wraps his arms around the older hero as he muffles his sobs in Legend’s hair.

Meanwhile, Hyrule has both hands clasped over his mouth, his own tears rolling down his cheeks as he presses against the trunk of the tree hiding him from Legend and Time’s view. Warriors sits beside him, a hand gripping the hilt of his sword while the other holds Hyrule against his side. The mask lies at their feet.

* * *

“Your hands will take a long time to heal,” Sky explains as Time studies the patchy skin slowly being covered by fresh bandages. “And even then, you probably won’t have a lot of feeling in them anymore. You’ll have to relearn how to use a sword, but it would be better if you stuck to long-range.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Time replies. Sky rolls his eyes.

“I know. Just take care of your hands. You’re lucky you were wearing gloves.”

“About that,” Four pipes up from beside Sky, still heavily bandaged but looking far better than when Time first saw him, “what happened to you two?”

“Do you want the long version or the short version?” Legend shoots back, earning a light smack on the head from Hyrule. “Hey!”

“Wizzrobes,” Time deadpans. Four and Sky raise an eyebrow as Legend glowers at him.

“Guess Time decided on the short version,” he mutters.

“There weren’t any wizzrobes before we switched,” Sky points out.

“_Before_ we switched,” Warriors says, securing the last of Four’s bandages. “After, though? What do you think that explosion was?”

“That _does_ explain the explosion we saw…” Sky mumbles. “And the lightning.”

“We’re they infected?” Wind asks, appearing beside Hyrule.

“I didn’t get the chance to check,” Time chuckles. “But I would say yes.”

“I come back to infected wizzrobes. Wonderful,” Twilight says in a deadpan nearly identical to Time’s. He and Wild make their way over to the group, balancing nine bowls of curry between them.

As the two begin distributing the food, Time snags Warriors’s sleeve. “You still have my mask.”

Warriors cocks an eyebrow. “And?”

“It doesn’t belong to you.”

“After the last time you used it, I don’t think it should belong to _anyone_,” Warriors hisses. “Time, had Hyrule not taken a huge risk, I don’t think you would be here right now.”

“It can only hold me for so long,” Time replies. Warriors bristles.

“And how long is “so long”? Because I _clearly _remember you being stuck in that form for _months._”

Time narrows his eye. “I _let_ that happen. I told you that.”

“You’re going to tell me you _let_ yourself be used as a puppet for months?” Warriors snarls. “Bullshit. You can’t control that thing. I don’t care how many times you say it’s only protecting you, that thing has an ulterior motive and I’m not about to let it be our downfall.”

“Break it up you two.” Legend reaches up and puts a hand on each of their shoulders, nudging them away from each other. Time hadn’t even noticed how close they had gotten. “We’re supposed to be keeping this on the down-low, and you’re doing a shit job at it so far.”

“I’ll give it back when you’re healed,” Warriors says before walking away. Time sighs, knowing that Warriors will try to keep it for far longer. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Warriors, but rather if push comes to shove, Time wants to be the one putting on the mask. Despite the Fierce Deity’s desire to “fix their mistakes”, Time doesn’t want any of the others to get hurt by using the mask. After all, once upon a time it was not always so protective of him, and Time has learned how to manipulate its thoughts.

“So,” Legend says as Hyrule jogs after Warriors. “What’s the damage?”

Time rolls his eye, holding up his newly bandaged hands. “Third degree burns in my hands. That’s some spell you have.”

Legend winces. “It’s, ah… one of my more powerful ones.”

“Good.” Time nods. “If it did this to me, imagine what it can do to other monsters.”

Legend fingers the cluster of medallions. “I never use it _because_ of that.”

“Enough about me,” Time says, waving a hand. “What about you?”

Legend snorts. “Probably going to have pain in my chest for the rest of my life. I might also end up with cataracts.”

Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea. “I really did a number to you, huh?”

“Let’s try this,” Legend claps his arm, gesturing for Time to follow him to where the others are currently eating breakfast. “How about instead of beating ourselves up over what we did to each other, we make sure nothing like that happens to anyone else?”

Time smiles, watching the lighthearted scene before them as he contemplates Legend’s words. Twilight elbows Warriors playfully as Hyrule and Wild snicker about something. Sky watches them curiously from beside Wind, who is eagerly chatting with Four. Four catches Time’s eye and jerks his head in a _get over here_ motion.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS DONE!  
Wow this took me about three weeks! Damn.  
Again, very special thanks to Liccy for inspiring me BIG TIME! This was a joy to write and it’s all thanks to you!!  
And playing with the multi-chapter format was a lot of fun! I hope you guys think so too!  
I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
